AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, 21 July 2026 launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of orchestrating a brutal assault on children and comparing the alleged crackdown to the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Kejriwal posted the remarks on X, saying the Prime Minister had surpassed even General Reginald Dyer in his treatment of the country's own children.

What Kejriwal Said

In his post, Kejriwal wrote in Hindi: 'मोदी जी ने जिस तरह से बच्चों पर बर्बरता पूर्ण हमला किया है वो बेहद शर्मनाक है' — 'The barbaric attack that Modi ji has carried out on children is extremely shameful.' He went further, stating that even the British had not attacked freedom fighters in the manner Modi had attacked the children of his own country. He concluded by alleging that Modi had 'left behind' what General Dyer did at Jallianwala Bagh.

The post, which accompanied a video, did not specify the date, location or precise nature of the alleged incident. The specific event being referenced could not be independently verified at the time of publication.

Context: A Colonial-Era Benchmark in Indian Political Rhetoric

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 13 April 1919 in Amritsar remains one of the most viscerally charged episodes in Indian political memory. General Reginald Dyer ordered British troops to open fire on an unarmed civilian gathering, killing hundreds. The event is routinely invoked by Indian politicians across the spectrum to denote extreme state excess or institutional brutality.

Kejriwal's comparison places the alleged incident in the most severe possible moral category available in Indian political language — framing it not merely as a policy failure but as an act of violence against the nation's most vulnerable citizens.

Policy Backdrop: AAP-Centre Tensions Over Children and Education

Since 2015, the AAP-led Delhi government and the Union government have clashed repeatedly over jurisdiction in education, health and municipal services in the national capital. AAP has consistently positioned its school reform programme as its flagship achievement, making any perceived threat to children a particularly potent political trigger for the party.

Friction between the elected Delhi government and the Lieutenant Governor's office — which reports to the Union government — has produced periodic public confrontations over control of civil services and school administration. Kejriwal's statement fits a broader pattern of AAP using institutional disputes to frame the Centre as hostile to Delhi's residents, particularly its children.

Stakeholders and Impact

The statement directly concerns school students and families in Delhi, the constituency AAP has most consistently claimed to champion. If the alleged incident involves children in a government or public setting, it is likely to draw responses from civil society groups, child-rights bodies and opposition parties aligned with AAP at the national level.

The BJP and the Ministry of Education had not issued a formal response at the time of publication. Delhi Police, which reports to the Union Home Ministry rather than the Delhi government, may also face scrutiny depending on the nature of the underlying event.

What's Next

The severity of Kejriwal's language — invoking Jallianwala Bagh and directly naming the Prime Minister — signals that AAP intends to press this issue in the public domain. Any formal response from the Centre, a statement by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, or discussion in the Delhi Assembly or Parliament during its next session could sharpen the political confrontation. The post's accompanying video is likely to become central to how both sides frame the narrative in the coming days.